1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to containers for shipping and storing items, such as meat, produce, dairy and other food articles requiring refrigeration and/or freezing. More particularly, the present invention relates to a container for shipping and storing items, such as meat, produce, dairy and other food articles requiring refrigeration and/or freezing, wherein the container is adapted to permit ventilation in to and out of the container, thereby facilitating refrigeration, freezing, defrosting and/or thawing.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Food items, such as meat, produce and dairy, require refrigeration and/or freezing during the various stages of transportation in the supply chain. For example, slaughter houses and other large bulk meat processing plants oftentimes ship large frozen portions of meat to distribution centers, butcher shops, grocery stores and delicatessens for further processing, packaging, delivery and sale to consumers. It is desirable to provide a container for shipping food items, such as meat, produce and dairy, which require refrigeration and/or freezing prior to, during or after shipping.
Corrugated shipping containers are used typically to ship the meat items, wherein the meat items have been wrapped in plastic bags to keep the moisture of the meat from damaging the corrugated material of the shipping container. Corrugated containers also provide an easy-to-stack storage option, thereby facilitating efficient and controlled shipping of large quantities of food items. Several containers may be placed in a stacked, side-by-side orientation on a pallet, and the entire stack of containers thereafter shrink-wrapped for delivery as a single large unit. It is desirable, therefore, to provide a container for shipping food items, wherein multiple containers may be placed in a stacked arrangement for ease of shipping, delivery and storage.
It is common for the shipping containers to be large enough so that several bags of meat can be placed within a single corrugated shipping container, which is then covered prior to shipment. During shipment, it is desirable for the individual shipping containers to be completely enclosed so as to prevent damage to the meat contained therein. Covering the containers also provides thermal insulation, thereby slowing the thawing process. Typical containers used to ship food items include an open-top carton portion and a cover portion which at least partially covers, such as by telescoping over, the open top of the carton portion. It is desirable, therefore, to provide a container for shipping food items, wherein the container may to opened for packing, wherein the container may be closed for shipping, delivery and storage and wherein the container may be reopened for unpacking, handling and dispensing of the food items from the container.
Typically, the meat is placed within one or more plastic bags prior to freezing and the bags of meat are then placed in corrugated containers. The containers are then placed within a large freezing unit and thereafter subjected to sufficiently low temperatures for an elongated period of time during which the meat is frozen while in the bags/containers. It has been discovered that due to the thermal insulating properties of typical prior art containers, it is desirable to not place the cover over the carton until after the meat is frozen. Having the meat placed within such an open-top container during the freezing process facilitates a speedy freezing step. However, this then requires additional undesirable steps during the packing and freezing operations. For example, covers must be stored separately from the cartons (into which the bags of meat have been packed) and thereafter placed over the cartons once the freezing step is complete. It is desirable, therefore, to provide an enclosable container adapted to be used to freeze food items wherein the cover of the container may be closed after the carton has been packed and prior to the freezing step.
It is furthermore desirable to provide an enclosable container adapted to be used to ship products requiring freezing, refrigeration or ventilation of an interior space of the container for at least a portion of the packing, shipping, storing or dispensing operations.